Avatar of Steel
by Vercingetorix1234
Summary: In another world, Kuvira was born the Avatar. It is her duty to bring balance to the world, but can she do that when she can't find balance within herself?
1. Weigh Anchor

A/N: There are two main points of divergence from canon in this story: 1. Aang died earlier than in canon and the Water Tribe Avatar died as a child. 2. Noatak died before he could get to Republic City.

* * *

><p>Kuvira crept through the hallway, keeping an eye on the blanket-swaddled lump on the living room chair. If she could just make it to the front door–<p>

From the edge of her eye she thought she saw a flicker of movement, but when she jerked her head to look, the lump was still. Finally, she was at the door, and she slowly pushed it open.

She stepped outside and, resisting the temptation to slam the door, she gently closed it. Only then did Kuvira allow her mask to slip, gasping in relief. But she had to go to school, so she opened her eyes, straightened her lips into a neutral expression, and set off.

Dust layered the road, though not as much as everything else in the run-down town. The stench of the trash piled on each house's section of the road overpowered the sea-salt breeze. Compared to that, even the clay that clung to her father's mining outfit when he came home in the evening was a relief. It was a rotten town.

When she arrived, she didn't see anyone else going into the school. That was half the reason she always came exactly on time - most of the other students arrived early. She could already hear the shrill tones of a teacher beginning a lesson, but she took her time shaking off her shoes at the threshold. She placed them in a neat row opposite to the other students' scattered footwear.

She slipped into the classroom unnoticed among the chatter and sat cross-legged in the empty back row. She realized her mistake a minute later when Ming arrived, dark pigtails bouncing, followed closely by Meilin. They sat to her right even though there were plenty of other empty seats in the room. Kuvira's left fist clenched against her leg. It was going to be one of those days.

The teacher arrived then, carrying a sheaf of quartered paper. He took his place in the only chair at the front of the room, and the students rose to bow and sat down again.

"Today you will be practicing your calligraphy again," the teacher said.

One of the boys groaned, and some of the others giggled. The teacher glared through his glasses in the direction of the noise, and they all became silent.

"Earth King Kuei, long may he reign in the kingdom of heaven, decreed that every citizen of the Earth Kingdom should know how to write and how to sign their names. So those of you who don't work will get the switch." He then passed the papers out along with the brushes.

"Like it matters. Who would want to go to the mainland anyway?" Ming said to Meilin, who giggled.

Kuvira focused on the task, drawing the brush along the paper in steady strokes. She didn't mind calligraphy lessons. They didn't have them often because the ink was expensive, and the writing took up all her concentration so she didn't have to think. She didn't even have the artistry to draw a house as anything but a collection of squares and triangles. Still, she had enough control to keep the frayed brushes they used from ruining each stroke. She finished writing her name while the other kids were still working, each character clearly drawn. It was better than most eight-year-olds she knew could manage. Her mother told her once that her name meant "courageous girl" and that her father had chosen it. Maybe if the accident hadn't happened, her father would have told her that himself.

"Do it again on the other side," was all the teacher said when his rounds brought him next to her.

"Of course she's good at this. I bet she paints those eyebrows on." Meilin said, and they laughed again.

Kuvira's cheeks burned, but she focused on the sheet of paper and began again. It was better not to react. Well, it would be better to do something, but her father would get angry. Not because he cared how she did in school, of course, but because he didn't want to look bad. She would still take a hundred insults rather than make him angry.

"Hey, Kuvira." Ming whispered. Kuvira didn't respond or stop drawing, but Ming continued anyway. "My daddy said that the Fire Lady did something with the tarries-"

"Tariffs." Meilin corrected.

"Yeah, that. And he said a lot of the miners are getting fired. I bet your dad's the first one on the list."

"Yeah, who would want him around?" Meilin said.

It took all of Kuvira's effort not to let her fingers slip. The worst part was that she couldn't deny it, not even to herself. Not anymore.

* * *

><p>Kuvira didn't go home for lunch like the other kids. Instead, she walked to the shore and stood there, watching the waves collapse against the rocks. Somewhere on the opposite side of the sea was the mainland of the Earth Kingdom. Everyone else on Jiao insisted that life there was terrible. Most villages were poor and didn't even have a Fire Nation mine to work for or fish to catch. Kuvira was skeptical. She couldn't imagine any place worse for her than Jiao Island, and according to the pictures she'd seen the mainland was a beautiful place. Life there had to be better.<p>

But she was just stalling, wasting a bit of her lunchtime so that she wouldn't have to go home yet. She couldn't do that forever. She took one last look at the sea before she began walking home.

She froze the instant she saw her father sitting in the chair, eyes open and a near-empty whiskey bottle uncorked on the ground next to him. The clay that lined his skin's creases and hung from strands of hair made him a fearsome sight. But he didn't move, staring at the wall as though he hadn't noticed her. When he'd first started acting like this after the accident, like the world around him didn't even exist, it had frightened her. But now she was relieved. When this happened, it usually took an hour or two for him to become active again.

Her mother was stirring a pot of fish curry when Kuvira arrived, and she put down the ladle to give her a silent hug. Still making very little noise, she scooped rice and curry onto a plate and handed it to Kuvira. It was just spicy enough to tickle her tongue with heat, and the fish was juicy and fresh. Kuvira longed to slurp it down. It probably wouldn't have made much noise, but she didn't want to risk it, and ate quietly. She was good at being quiet, even though she hated it.

"Go back to school," her mother whispered once she finished. "I'm going to wake up your father for lunch."

"Just let him sleep." Kuvira whispered back. Sometimes, she wished he would never wake up.

Her mother shook her head. "That would make it worse later. Go to school."

Her mother prepared another plate of curry and then Kuvira followed her to the hall. Her mother got closer to the chair and turned to face Kuvira, letting go of the plate with one hand to point at the door. Kuvira opened the door and stepped outside, but she turned back once her mother stopped looking. She wouldn't leave her mother alone. This time, she would do something. She'd been practicing her earthbending. She wasn't very good yet, but she could move a small piece of earth, which was more than her father could do.

The instant her mother touched her father's shoulder to wake him, his arm jerked and knocked the plate out of her hands. It fell and clattered on the floor. Curry spilled onto his lap, staining his pants. Kuvira shuddered, but she couldn't look away.

There was a moment of stillness. Her mother raised a hand to her mouth and her father looked down at his lap with a blank expression. Then he got up and slapped her mother backhanded across the face.

"Stop it!" Kuvira said and, as he raised his hand for another blow, she reached for her connection with the earth.

She was part of the earth, immovable and unshakeable. She swept her foot across the ground in a semicircle, and the ground that her father was standing on turned, and he tripped. He wouldn't do this again. She could fight back now.

Then he got up, and his eyes focused on her, narrowed. She didn't feel immovable anymore. She took a step back, but he was already lunging at her. He lifted her off the ground with both hands around her neck and squeezed.

It didn't hurt that much at first, but his grip was strong enough. He didn't yell or curse. His eyes just shone with cold anger. Kuvira tried not to react at first, keeping her face still in an expressionless mask, anything to not provoke him further. But when her lungs started to burn, she began to gurgle, desperately trying to force air in. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She looked into his eyes, trying to beg him to stop.

"Shun, you're killing her!" her mother said as Kuvira's vision began to dim, and the pressure eased. She landed hard and gasped, taking in as much air as possible.

"Look what you made me do!" Her father said. "You used your bending against me, your own father!"

Kuvira didn't look up. She didn't want to face him. He grunted and, a minute later, she heard the stairs thump as he marched upstairs. Not long after, the tinkling sound of breaking glass followed it.

Her mother knelt and stroked her back in circles while she caught her breath, and without thinking, Kuvira allowed herself to lean into its warmth. Then she remembered what had just happened, and leapt up and pushed her mother's hand away.

"Why don't you do anything!" Kuvira whispered. She held her mother's gaze, but her face twisted with some unreadable expression. No matter how old or how good at reading people Kuvira got, she would never understand, and nothing would change. She sighed and went to the bathroom.

She washed her face, brushed her hair, and checked her neck for bruises. There weren't any marks that would last this time, so she wouldn't need to cover it up. She felt a little bit better once she finished. She had control over this, at least. She wouldn't let anyone see her be as weak as her mother.

* * *

><p>The rest of the school day passed without incident. Behind a mask of indifference, Kuvira stewed in anger at her parents for hurting her and at herself for not being able to do anything about it. Meilin opened her mouth once to say something to her, but shut it again after one glare from Kuvira. She was sure no one else noticed anything different about her.<p>

When Kuvira got back home, her mother was crouched on the floor, packing clothes into a suitcase. Two more suitcases leaned against the wall next to her, stuffed near to bursting.

"What are you doing?" she asked. They'd never gone on a vacation, so this was very surprising. Kuvira hated surprises.

"We're moving," her father answered instead, wheeling another suitcase into the room. He didn't look drunk anymore, but Kuvira didn't move any closer.

"Why? And where are we going?"

"Stop asking questions and pack. We're leaving in the morning."

Kuvira turned to her mother, but she didn't make eye contact. There was definitely something strange going on. Was her father really getting fired? He hadn't gone to work, either, and she wouldn't have been surprised if it was true. No one liked people who drank and got angry. The other kids weren't the only people who said things about him.

Kuvira was still folding her clothes when she heard her father's voice drifting up the stairs. He was talking to her mother, and obviously trying to be quiet, though failing at it. Kuvira crept halfway down the stairs, where the steps turned and she could listen without being seen.

She still couldn't make out everything, but she could hear most of what her father said.

"…can't make the rent...too many mouths to feed, and we never planned on having her anyway. We have to do something. It's all Izumi's fault, and those bastards at the mine…"

He paused, and Kuvira barely heard her mother respond.

"If you know what's good for you, you will listen to me!" her father shouted, and then she heard him coming up the stairs. She ran to her room as quietly as she could, her heart pounding. She managed to close the door halfway before he reached the top of the stairs. She didn't dare close the door entirely – he didn't like that. He passed her room without noticing anything. She'd been right about him getting fired, but the rest of the conversation didn't make sense to her. She didn't have any choice but to wait and see.

Kuvira finished packing her clothes and then spent the rest of the day helping her mother sort out the less essential items. They would ship those ahead of them. To what address, she didn't know, and her mother barely spoke to her throughout except to give her instructions. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. She'd always dreamed of leaving Jiao, but this wasn't the way she'd imagined it happening.

She was shaken awake by her father early in the morning and told to get moving. She was still half-asleep while he bought ferry tickets at the port at the northern tip of the island. Her eyelids fluttered with the threat of sending her back to sleep while still standing.

But she woke fully the moment the ferry left port. The sea breeze smelled fresher away from town, and the water sparkled differently with the swaying of the ship. Her parents looked less impressed. Her mother looked out over the railings at the sea with scrunched-up eyebrows.

Kuvira managed to maintain her balance despite the swaying, but she couldn't keep a grin off of her face. She walked to the front of the ship to squint into the distance, where the mainland was.

In less than an hour, it was within sight. A town with rows of houses set in the hillside and interspersed with trees. A long harbor stretched out toward the sea. The first thing that Kuvira noticed was that it was so green. She'd never seen so many trees in one place before.

She'd already gotten in line to disembark when she realized that her parents weren't in it, and she stepped back out to join them.

"We're not getting off?" she asked.

"No, not this stop," her father said, looking surprisingly cheerful. His hair was combed for once and he was actually smiling. "But why don't you get something to eat? Your mother will get you when it's time to leave." He dropped a copper piece into her hand.

Kuvira stared at the coin, and then took another long, suspicious look at her father. He was smiling, though, like he used to before the accident. Maybe this move would be a good thing after all. She grinned and followed the crowd down the ship's ramp.

The town wasn't much larger than Jiao, but it was a lot busier. Workers loaded and unloaded cargo from ships, and fishermen hauled their catches onto shore. Further in, people bought groceries and vendors sold food and miscellany from carts. Kuvira spent too long looking through one of the street vendor's snacks. No store in Jiao had so many choices. Just as the salesman's lips began to curl into an impatient expression, she chose a red bean bun. She started eating it while walking back.

Kuvira was within viewing distance of the ferry when the sailors began to draw the ramp up. She dropped the bun and sprinted toward the harbor. She could make it. They just hadn't realized that they'd left her behind, and her parents would tell them to wait. But her stomach churned with fear.

"Wait! I haven't gotten back on yet!" she yelled. She saw the captain of the ship turn toward the passengers and say something, but none of them responded. Why weren't her parents telling him to stop?

By the time she reached the end of the harbor, the ship had already begun to drift away.

"Mom! Dad! I'm right here!" she screamed, looking for them among the people onboard. She finally spotted them, and shouted again, but her father didn't turn to look at her. Her mother made eye contact, but then she looked away.

Kuvira felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. It couldn't be real. Her mother hadn't seen her after all. Her father might have seen her and done nothing, but her mother wouldn't. She wouldn't.

"Mom! Dad! Don't leave me!" she screamed again and again as the ship drew further away, until her throat stung.

Finally, the ship was out of sight. Kuvira just stood there for a minute after, not understanding what had happened. Then she collapsed to her knees, choking as each sob came before the last one ended, because she couldn't deny it anymore. Her parents had abandoned her.


	2. Drifting

Kuvira walked through the streets in a daze, forcing one foot forward and then the next. She had no idea what to do. She was just a kid. She didn't know how to cook or make money or do anything. There was no one she could turn to. She didn't even have any money to take another ferry back to Jiao, not that anyone there would help her.

At the harbor, she'd prayed for the ferry to come back, for the whole day to have just been a dream. But when she'd looked out into the sea, the only ships left were fishermen's boats, little things threatened by the waves lapping at their sides. This was her new reality. So she'd rubbed her face until she didn't feel any more tears and walked away, as though putting the empty bay out of sight would help her find an answer.

The people around her were still going about their business, shopping and hurrying to wherever they had to be. No one seemed to notice that she didn't have any place to go. Even if she asked them for help, would they? There were only a few beggars in Jiao. They wandered the streets, calling out for help, and people would walk past them, pretending they weren't there. She was just like them now. Or worse, if she asked someone for help they would smile at her and give her food, then snatch her away and she would never be seen again. Her mother had warned her about people on the mainland like that. On Jiao, it hadn't seemed like something she needed to worry about, but she'd never been here before. As a visitor, the town's unfamiliarity was thrilling. Now it was terrifying.

Eventually, the path in front of her started to become dimmer. She looked up, and saw that the sun had begun to set. Kuvira's stomach had stopped growling hours ago, and it ached with emptiness. She tried to ignore it. First, she had to – she was alone, her parents weren't there, she didn't know what do, she was going to die…

Kuvira took in a deep breath, shoving those thoughts away. She would think about that later. First, she had to find someplace to spend the night. She took a closer look at her surroundings. There was a narrow alley between two of the houses. It didn't have a roof, but at least it was out of the way. Her feet were sore from walking all day, and she couldn't muster the energy to keep looking. It would have to do.

She was used to sleeping on the ground. She felt closest to the earth then, like she could hear the rumbles of the lion-turtles heaving the continents. But at home she at least had a blanket to keep the cold away, and a pillow to support her head. Kuvira drew her legs in, making herself as small as possible to conserve heat, and bent her arms for a makeshift headrest. Tormented by shivers and unable to sleep, she wasn't able to keep her thoughts at bay any longer. She was alone, and she would be forever. At least no one was there to hear her sniffle in the depths of the alleyway until she finally fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Something was nudging her leg.<p>

"I said, get up!"

Kuvira blinked, and saw an old man glaring down at her.

"If you don't get off my property right now, I'm calling the police! How many times do I need to tell you kids to stop messing around here!" The man said. His eyes narrowed just like her father's. But she was in an alleyway, and she remembered in a rush how she'd gotten there.

She leapt to her feet and scrambled out of the alley. Once she was on the street, she slowed to a fast walk to avoid attracting attention. At the end of the block, she glanced back, and stopped to catch her breath when she realized that he hadn't followed her.

Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. She needed to find some water. The enormity of everything struck her suddenly. She wasn't welcome anywhere and she didn't even know where to get water. She wanted to laugh or cry, but there were people all around her, so she kept walking.

She'd barely paid attention to her surroundings when she was walking the previous day, but when she thought about it she remembered that she'd passed a few houses with wells. She would get water from one of those for now, and in the future she would look for a river or wherever else the townspeople got their water.

For now. How long could she keep this up, focusing only on the problem that was right in front of her? It wasn't enough, but it was the only way she knew to survive.

Kuvira passed by two houses with wells that obviously still had people at home until she came across a good target. Tall, unbent grass shot up from the cracks between the stones of the path to the front door, and the neighboring houses were a good distance away. No one else was on this road that crept up the hillside at the edge of town.

She crept through the grass, keeping an eye on the road in case anyone saw her. She cranked the well's pulley with both arms, trying to pull the bucket up quickly but not so it clattered too loudly against the sides of the well. The bucket was so heavy with water that she couldn't lift it with both arms. She settled for keeping it on top of the well and tilting it, kneeling with her mouth open to let the water pour in. The water splashed despite her best efforts to keep the bucket steady and it tasted like dirt, but she was so thirsty that she didn't care, gulping it down until she was finally sated.

The water couldn't fill her stomach, though. Before long, it hurt with hunger again. Kuvira could beg for money to buy food, but that wasn't a real option. She wasn't weak. She would only beg if she was about to die.

The only other way she could think of was digging through garbage. It was disgusting, but at least she could do it without being seen.

When it came down to it, though, Kuvira couldn't bear to eat any of the food that she found. After dark, she'd decided to try a garbage heap in the alley next to a restaurant. She poked through it with a tree branch held in one hand, the other hand pinching her nose shut from the stench of rotting garbage. Enough of it still got through to make her eyes water.

Finally, she found a half-eaten carton of noodles that had been shielded from the worst of the trash. The noodles were cold and mushy after hours of sitting in broth, but they might have tasted alright if the box didn't smell like a dead animal. She missed her mother's cooking. She forced the noodles down anyway, trying not to cry again. She was tired of crying.

Sleep didn't come easily that night either.

* * *

><p>Kuvira was still hungry in the morning. She wanted something to eat. Real food, not garbage.<p>

"Fresh coconuts on sale!" a street vendor nearby called out. Rows of fruit were arrayed on his stall. "Fresh and juicy, and the milk is to die for!"

Kuvira hadn't eaten a coconut in years, not since the days before her father began buying whiskey. For the first time in her life, she was seriously considering stealing. It was wrong, but she didn't care. She needed one of those coconuts.

Kuvira stayed far enough away that the vendor probably wouldn't notice her, but close enough that the stall was within view. She waited until the vendor was looking the other way and then stomped her foot on the ground, sinking the front two legs of the table a few inches into the earth. The vendor noticed the sound of the coconuts rolling away, but by the time he looked, they'd scattered across the road. People stepped around the coconuts that rolled in front of them, but no one stopped to help the vendor as he hunched over to gather as many of them as he could before they got too far away.

Kuvira focused on two coconuts further away from the vendor that she was sure he hadn't noticed. She traced a path on her palm with the tip of her finger, bending tiny pieces of earth below the coconuts in a snake trail to carry them into an alleyway. The earth was harder to bend than usual, like a force was pulling her finger back, but she just pushed harder. When she finished, she stepped back and waited for the vendor to finish collecting the coconuts and return to his stall.

The moment she entered the alleyway and picked up the coconuts, she heard footsteps behind her, and she whirled around, holding the coconuts behind her back.

The vendor glared at her and grabbed her arms, pulling them forward. The coconuts fell to the ground and rolled away.

"I knew an earthbender did this. Your parents will be hearing about this!"

Kuvira didn't bother trying to explain. It never helped. The man let go of one of her arms and dragged her out of the alley by the other. She had to do something, but he was too strong, and she couldn't get free. He might have been an earthbender too, if he'd sensed her trick.

"What's going on here?" A man with a neatly-trimmed beard approached them.

"Are you her father? This girl tried to steal my food. I expect that she will be punished." The vendor turned his glare toward the man, as if he were responsible. The bearded man looked carefully at Kuvira, as if analyzing her, and frowned.

"Yes, she's my daughter. Don't worry, she'll pay for this." He took Kuvira's arm from the vendor and dragged her away.

Kuvira didn't know why he'd lied or where he was trying to take her. She desperately wanted to break free and run, but she waited until they were out of sight of the vendor before she began to struggle, digging into the ground with her feet and yanking her arm. She hit his hand as hard as she could with her free fist, but he didn't even seem to feel it.

The man let go, and she fell on her butt. She was about to get up and run when he spoke.

"Look, I'm trying to help you, okay? You look like a runaway or something. Where are your parents?" Kuvira got up and took a step back. He didn't move any closer.

"I can't help you if you won't answer," he said.

Kuvira opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. If she did, everything she was feeling would spill out at once. She watched him carefully, but his face didn't betray any sign of impatience or anger.

"My parents are gone." She forced the words out. They sounded like they came from someone else's mouth. "They left me here, on purpose. And they're not coming back."

He frowned. "What do you mean, they left you here? Where did they go?"

"I don't know. They just left on the ferry from Jiao two days ago."

"I'll take you to the mayor, then. He'll know what to do."

He reached a hand out to her, but Kuvira hesitated. She didn't know if she could trust him, or any adult.

"You don't have anywhere else to go, do you?" The lines of his forehead deepened; he pitied her. Kuvira looked away, ashamed. But there was nothing else she could do, so she took his hand.

* * *

><p>The mayor lived in an inconspicuous house downtown. File cabinets crowded his office, barely leaving room for the chairs that Kuvira and the bearded man sat on. The mayor wrung his hands while the bearded man explained the situation to him. Then he began asking questions, one after another, about ferry schedules and Jiao Island and her parents. Kuvira didn't answer any of the questions herself, or even pay much attention to the conversation. It was undeniably real, but it didn't feel like it was. Nothing about the last two days did. She focused on finding shapes in the pattern of tiles that lined the floor.<p>

"Kuvira? Do you have any other family?" the mayor said when she'd just found the Fire Nation symbol. She tilted her head up, and saw that both of them were looking at her with the same furrowed eyebrows.

She shook her head. When she'd asked her parents about their families, her father would get annoyed and her mother would give some vague non-answer and change the subject. Kuvira suspected that they didn't get along with them.

"Friends of family?"

"No."

The mayor sighed. "Xinyi used to have an orphanage, but the Queen cut the funding years ago. I've been struggling to find families to adopt children, but it's hard enough with the little ones, and Jiao is in even worse shape. With an eight-year-old…"

"What about the Metal Clan?" the bearded man said, and the mayor hmmed. Kuvira went back to staring at the tiles.

"Kuvira, what do you think? Does living in Zaofu sound good to you? You would have many opportunities there."

"I don't care." Kuvira said. It was how she really felt, for once. The mayor raised an eyebrow at her, but then he turned to face the other man again.

"Well, it's settled then. I will take her to Zaofu. Thank you for bringing her here."

"I was just doing my duty." Kuvira heard his chair scrape against the ground, and when she looked, he was waving to her.

"Goodbye, Kuvira."

Kuvira nodded. At the last second, she remembered to wave back.

* * *

><p>The mayor owned a Satomobile, an ugly metal carriage that didn't look like it could move an inch. If she'd been in a better mood, she would have been excited to ride in one. Instead, she patiently watched the mayor demonstrate how to put on a seatbelt and followed suit. Then they were driving out of town.<p>

The buildings became more and more spread out until eventually the road was flanked by crops and then empty fields of grass. In the distance, mountains covered by a coat of trees stretched along the horizon. The mayor drove slower than the ferry had, but the car still bumped against the uneven dirt road, shaking Kuvira against the seatbelt every few minutes.

The mayor kept chattering despite not getting any reply, as though the silence made him nervous.

"Zaofu was founded by Suyin Beifong just ten years ago. Her mother was Toph Beifong, one of Avatar Aang's friends. You'll be in good hands." He looked at her for a moment before focusing on the steering wheel again.

Kuvira didn't know what she was supposed to say to that anyway. Even if she wasn't in good hands, she wouldn't have anywhere else to go.

The mayor was silent after that, and Kuvira watched the scenery fly past the car. They'd passed the plains and had begun driving through a valley between the mountains. Then they exited through the other side of the valley, and Kuvira was stunned.

Zaofu wasn't a city like any she'd heard of. It was a series of steel flowers scattered across the valley, hugged by mountains along its back and sides and rivers along the ground. Skyscrapers grew from each flower and glistened in the sunlight. Rails strung the sepals together like the jasmine strands that Kuvira's mother used to tie into her hair. Kuvira hadn't liked sitting still for so long, but her mother insisted that the flowers made her hair look pretty. A pang of longing struck her suddenly, and then she remembered how her mother had pretended not to see her on the harbor. Kuvira gritted her teeth. She hated her.

"The whole city is made out of metal," the mayor said, oblivious. "Suyin had some wealthy investors, but it's still quite impressive that she managed to build this without any official Kingdom funding at all. Nowadays, Zaofu is richer than any of the states are."

The car approached the first flower, and up close it was obvious just how large it was. A single petal cast their car and an entire parking lot of other Satomobiles in darkness. Kuvira hadn't known that any place outside Republic City or the Fire Nation could have so many cars. The mayor maneuvered their car in between two others near the back of the lot, and they walked up a nearby flight of stairs to a mostly empty train station.

As the train passed from one flower to the next, more people filed in at each stop until it was nearly packed. Many of them wore bright green, expensive-looking outfits with necklaces made from steel bands. It was suffocating being around so many people in such a small space, but most of them disembarked at a stop beneath an enormous skyscraper at the center of the largest flower. The only people left on the train were herself, the mayor, and a man with crew cut, salt-and-pepper hair wearing metal armor and a helmet.

"You have business with the Beifongs?" he said to the mayor. His eyes focused on them with a strange intensity. To Kuvira, they were comforting. He looked reliable.

The mayor smiled, but the corner of his mouth twitched. "Yes, we have a meeting with Suyin. I sent a telegram ahead of time."

The man nodded. "I'm Chen, the captain of the guard. I need to talk to her too, so you can follow me."

The last flower at the back of the valley was much less densely packed than the rest of the city. It only had a few buildings among the many steps and wide plateaus of trimmed grass. Was this where Kuvira was going to stay? It was beautiful, but it was also alien. The floors were dead metal, and Kuvira missed the feeling of earth beneath her toes. She felt vulnerable without it.

Chen led them to the largest building in the back, and the two guards standing at its gates made no move to stop them.

"Suyin usually spars in the evening. She doesn't mind if people watch." Chen said as they passed through tall hallways that twisted so that Kuvira couldn't remember where they'd come from. In one of the halls, two identical boys a few years younger than Kuvira grappled and grunted, attempting to shove each other over.

"Boys, stop that." Chen said. The twins separated and saluted to him. The moment Shu passed them, they continued, though silently this time. The one facing her stared. She pretended not to notice, and the other twin seized the chance to topple him to the ground.

The back of the building led to a training ground ringed by columns topped by black teardrops of metal. Kuvira's eyes were drawn to a woman with dark hair that twisted as she cartwheeled to avoid the chunks of earth that flew at her. She must have been Suyin. Her opponents were two guards. They worked together well, timing their strikes to send an unending hail of rocks at Suyin, who alternately bent like a reed to dodge them and stood still to hurl them aside.

Kuvira didn't think the woman could win. She was constantly on the defensive, and the guards were the best earthbenders she'd seen. Then one of the guards shot a missile too far to the right. The woman jumped high, propelled by rock jutting from her feet. She twisted in midair, her arms spread. The metal on the columns became like liquid, flowing toward the guards. She was a metalbender! The guards didn't have time to react. By the time the woman landed, they were both bound in ropes of steel.

"Thank you. That was a good work out," the woman said, bending the metal back to its places on the columns.

"You let yourselves become predictable." Chen said. His voice didn't rise. "I expect you to improve by next time."

The guards saluted. Chen dismissed them with a nod, and moved to stand by the exit once they left. Kuvira wondered whether he was really watching out for something, or was just trying not to intrude.

"You're Jinzhang? I got your telegram." Suyin said, bowing to the mayor. He bowed in return.

"This is the girl I told you about." Jinzhang said, gesturing to Kuvira.

The corners of Suyin's eyes turned down slightly as she looked down at Kuvira. Kuvira gritted her teeth. All of these adults felt sorry for her, but they kept passing her on to someone else like an unwanted present. They didn't really care about her, not the way her parents were supposed to.

"I would be happy to take her in. I built this city to give people the opportunity to build a new life. Would you like that, Kuvira?" Suyin said. Her smile was fixed at the edges.

"I'd like that." Kuvira said. She didn't have a choice, so she had to make a good impression. Did her smile look just as fake?

"Great. Chen, take her to one of the guest rooms and let her get settled in. You can give me your report after dinner."

Kuvira noticed Suyin exchange glances with the mayor, but by then Chen was leading her away.

The guest room was much nicer than her bedroom at home had been. The window looked out into the back of the valley and was draped by lacy, green curtains. There was a small wooden desk and chair, a dresser, and even a bathroom with indoor plumbing. At home, Kuvira's mother used to travel to the stream each morning with a pot slung against her hip to fetch the day's water. That sense of longing was back, but Kuvira focused on her surroundings. She sat on the bed, careful not to ruffle the neatly arranged covers. She sank farther than she expected into the mattress.

Chen chuckled. He was leaning against the doorway. "Relax, girl. A kid like you shouldn't be sitting so straight and proper. Suyin is a good woman, and she loves kids. You're gonna like it here."

Kuvira nodded swiftly.

Chen sighed. "I'd help you unpack, but you didn't bring anything. We still have some time until dinner."

Kuvira stayed silent. She could wait until dinner, and anything else would just be awkward for both of them anyway.

"I have an idea," Chen said triumphantly. When Kuvira looked, he was drawing a deck of cards from his pocket. He winked at her. "Don't tell the men I was playing cards on duty. I don't let them do it, and I'd never hear the end of it."

Kuvira's lips tugged upward, unbidden. She felt the bed shake as Chen sat next to her and began to lay out the cards.

The goal of the game was to get rid of her cards before her opponent did, like rummy. Chen explained as they played the first game, but he didn't hold back, letting Kuvira learn from experience. Usually adults went easy on her, so she was surprised by how absorbed in it she got. She lost the first game, but on the second and third she managed to get him stuck with a few cards that he couldn't make a set with, though he still outscored her.

Chen didn't seem to mind that Kuvira barely said anything, which made her feel more comfortable. Before she knew it, he was filing the cards back into their box.

"You have a good head for strategy." Chen told her as they walked to the dining hall. "You'd make a great guard someday."

"Do you really think so?" Kuvira said.

"Yeah. Of course, you don't have to be a guard. You can do anything you want here in Zaofu, and I can tell you have a lot of potential." Chen smiled down at her warmly, but Kuvira couldn't bring herself to return it.

She'd never really considered what she wanted to do with her life. All she'd known was that she didn't want to stay on Jiao. Well, she'd gotten her wish.

Suyin and the mayor were already sitting at the head of an enormous U-shaped table. The twins Kuvira had seen before were to their left, chopsticks a blur as they shoveled noodles into their mouths. To Suyin's immediate right was a man with glasses who was saying something to a boy with long hair. Further down the table were a timid-looking girl and a boy with glasses who looked just like the man to his left. They must have been Suyin's family.

Suyin was swirling her spoon in a bowl of soup, but not eating. She and the mayor were busy talking, and didn't notice their arrival until Chen greeted them.

Suyin flashed her teeth at her and pointed at an empty seat next to the glasses-wearing boy. "Kuvira, why don't you sit next to my son Junior over there?" Suyin faced everyone else. "Everyone, this is Kuvira. She's going to be staying here, so I want you all to get along."

A series of grunts and "Yes, mom"s resounded and then they each went back to what they were doing as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Junior was the only one who seemed curious, looking her over from the sides of his eyes like he was trying to be discreet, but he didn't try to make conversation. That suited Kuvira just fine.

In the back of her mind, Kuvira knew that the soup was delicious, sour and spicy with exotic vegetables that her family rarely had access to. But even though it was her first real meal in days, she didn't really taste it, one spoon following the next in a precise rhythm. Everyone else was perfectly at ease amidst the clamor of eight people around a single table, but it was all she could do just to eat and try to block out the noise. She wished Chen was sitting next to her, at least, but he had already left.

"So, Kuvira," the man with glasses said, making her pause her hand halfway to her mouth. "Where are you from?"

"Jiao." She said, hoping that was the end of the questions.

"Jiao, huh? I've never been there myself. Do you have any interesting architecture?"

"Not really."

"Dear, stop pestering the poor girl." Suyin cut in. "She obviously doesn't want to talk. And you haven't even introduced yourself!" The man chuckled guiltily, and Suyin turned to face Kuvira, pointing at each family member in turn. "This is my husband, Bataar. Wing and Wei are my youngest sons, Bataar Junior is the oldest, Huan is in the middle, and Opal is my only daughter."

She must have seen the look on Kuvira's face. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to know them all. Right now just eat and get a good night's sleep, because you have school tomorrow. You and Junior are the same age, so he'll show you how to get there." Suyin looked at her like a teacher after giving instructions.

Kuvira nodded. "Yes, Miss Suyin."

Suyin smiled, and this time it extended to the crinkles of her eyes.

"Please, call me Su. I know I'm not your mother, and I'm not trying to be. I just want you to feel comfortable here." Suyin said. "Deal?"

A knot of tension in Kuvira's stomach came loose, and she felt like she could breathe a bit more freely again. She could do that much.

"Deal."

Kuvira was able to eat the rest of her dinner in peace, and this time she slurped the soup down.


End file.
